Songkran in Chiang Mai, Thailand

T. S. Eliot said, “April is the cruelest month” and, although I am sure he wasn’t talking about Thailand, April is the most sweltering month here in Southeast Asia with temperatures often rising to over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. As temperatures rise the air in many places is also filled with smoke from the springtime burning of the rice fields. Rains rarely come in April but fortunately for Thais looking for a respite, there is Songkran!

Every year on April 13, 14 and 15, Thailand celebrates New Year (for the third time) with Songkran, the world’s biggest water fight! If you want to let loose and celebrate your inner child, this is the place to do it. Basically you take about 60 million Thais, fly in a few million “farangs” (foreigners) specifically for the event, arm them all with giant squirt guns and other water delivery devices of mass destruction and let them loose on the streets to “bless” each other with water. People of all ages participate and do so with gusto and exceedingly good humor. It is total mayhem. There is no sense fighting it. Spend any time on the streets and you will get wet.

This year I began the celebrations in Bangkok. The morning began fairly normally but around lunch time in the Silom area anyway, things got crazy. Streets were blocked off, water trucks were brought in and otherwise mild mannered Thais apparently overwhelmed by a sense of ancient tradition and a need for frivolity let loose. Water was spraying everywhere! Everyone was laughing and playing together just like good children should. It was fun and I didn’t want to leave but I had to catch a flight to Chaing Mai; for even more Songkran festivities.

While Bangkok parties things get even more intense up north in Chiang Mai. Holiday revelers pack “Old Town” and areas near the ancient moat with squirt gun vendors, street food stalls, water proof phone case hawkers and whatever else is required. The whole city is armed with everything from buckets to “tactical squirt weapons”. The fire department is called in to not to fight fires but to spray crowds. Bands perform, teenagers swim in the moat and everywhere people are throwing water. It is hard to describe the joy I felt participating in this ancient ritual. One thing I did learn for sure; my inner child is still there and has a huge grin on his face.

In 2011 Jonathan Look decided to change his life and pursue adventures instead of comfort and possessions. His goal is to travel the world solo; one country at a time, one year at a time. To accomplish this he got rid of most of his possessions, packed up what little he saw as necessities and headed out. His goal is to spend ten years discovering new places, meeting new people and taking the time to learn about them, their values and their place on this tiny planet. He embraces the philosophy that says a person is the sum of their experiences and rejects the fraud of modern consumerism that makes people into slaves of their consumption. He doesn't intend to be modern day ascetic, just more mindful of his place in the world and to make decisions according to that new standard.

In 2011 I sold everything I owned, took early retirement and began traveling the world. It was a pretty radical step, but after living a rather typical American life, a life based on seeking comforts and accumulating possessions, I longed for adventure and experiences far more than holding on to my “stuff.”

I started this blog to demonstrate to my fellow baby boomers that the world is not some scary place to fear, but it is an amazing place, full of adventure, that is still open and available to those who are motivated and curious enough to go out and see it for themselves.